Cambodian Shadow Puppetry

In May 2014 I was selected as one of the Cambodia Creative Four, four international artists destined for Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Each of us would spend one month doing arts workshops with underprivileged kids, hosted by Let Us Create. LUC is an NGO that serves more than 100 kids, providing education, nutrition, and artistic experiences. They provide a safe and nurturing environment where kids can just be kids.

This expedition was part of my ongoing Puppets Without Borders project. This trip was particularly exciting for me as my artistic medium of choice, shadow puppetry, is indigenous to the country. However, the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror in the 1970's took a serious toll on Cambodia's culture; 90% of the country's artists were executed, and those who survived were left understandably fearful of practicing their craft. Decades later, Cambodia is still struggling to rebuild the culture that was lost; Let Us Create works with artists like me to help inspire the younger generations with various art forms.

Shadow puppetry by Sovanna Phum Art Associaton

I landed in the bustling capital, Phnom Penh, in late November, and wasted no time seeking out my people. After checking in to my hotel I headed to Sovannah Phum Art Association, where I saw a performance which included dance, live music and Sbek Thom: large shadow puppets. The puppeteers entered from the back of the audience in darkness, handheld flashlights used to cast large otherworldly shadows across the theatre. Puppets held high above their heads, they dance both behind and in front of the screen. During battle scenes they even slapped these huge puppets together... Incredible!

Sovannah Phum Art Association

The performance was mesmerizing. I had never seen this style of puppetry performed before, and was surprised at the variety of ways in which the puppeteers used the large leather tableaux to such dramatic effect, bringing to life part of The Ramayana.

Surrounded by the amazing talent of Sovannah Phum Art Association

I was thrilled to have a chance to meet the cast afterwards, and even took a moment to show them photos of my very different shadow puppetry work from Canada.

The following day, I returned to Sovannah Phum to learn how to make a traditional shadow puppet; this one Sbek Toch,  or small shadow. I picked out a pattern, Sita from the Hindu epic The Ramayana, and settled down on a low wooden stool. The pattern was taped down to a dried cow hide, and I was presented with a mallet and a range of chisels and punches.

Tools of the trade

I first carved all the interior details of the puppet before chiselling the outline. I say this like it's no big deal, but it took 5 hours! It wasn't terribly difficult for someone with lots of patience and good hand-eye coordination... The hardest part was sitting on that tiny stool for so long!

Puppet in progress

Once the puppet was cut out I painted in details using a small brush and black ink, copying a finished sample. Finally, the puppet was assembled by one of the crew: control rods made of bamboo and joints tied with leather cord. The puppet was whisked away for a quick spray of sealant, and voila!

Finished! Shadow puppet of Sita from The Ramayana

The trip was off to a brilliant start! A few days later, I was settled in to the volunteer house in Sihanoukville, and getting ready for my workshops at Let Us Create.

The kids I worked with were aged toddler to high school, so I had to have a pretty big range of programming; everything from drawing shapes and singing nursery rhymes, to sewing, paper cutting and my main project: creating a shadow puppetry performance with 30 + high school students.

Our bilingual script

The story I selected for our play was Crocodile Nen Thon, which I found in Khmer Legends by Demaz Tep Baker. It's the story of a young monk and his extremely loyal pet crocodile. LUC's director, Sopheap Kong, translated the story into Khmer, and the story was read in both languages to the students. I started working with the youth building their puppets. Despite our very limited time together and a bit of a language barrier, they made some really great puppets.

Students making shadow puppets

We had two rehearsals, and then it was showtime!

The shadow play would be part of the first ever performing arts show at LUC. I worked with one of the other Creative Four, João Telmo from Portugal, to program the rest of the show to include all the 100+ kids from the centre. Although I thought this was all a pretty big deal, I wasn't sure what to expect. Would the kids show up? Would their families?

Wristbands!

The day of the performance arrived, and the kids not only showed up, but they were dressed in their best clothes and bouncing off the walls with excitement! I'd made all of the junior students colourful wristbands from scraps I picked up at the local tailor, and the kids went crazy for them. The energy before the show was electric - everyone was so excited!

Art Assistant Vutha helps hang the blackout curtains

My biggest concern with the shadow play was the lighting; normally I would never perform shadow puppets at 2 pm in the afternoon in semi-outdoor conditions. Shadow puppets need darkness! After trying out a few different options, I decided the best choice would be to use the sun as our main light source, and black out the audience area as much as possible. I had brought two point-source lights with me from Canada, and I placed them very close to the screen for an extra bit of illumination. It worked!

Our play was narrated in Khmer by teacher Touch Dara and in English by João Telmo. It went off without a hitch in front of a huge and completely enrapt audience. Success! As far as I know, not a single student or staff member had ever seen shadow puppetry in person, so I was really thrilled to just be able to expose so many new people to the art form.

The shadow play was followed by several other performances by the rest of the centre's kids, concluding with a dance party! The centre was overflowing with joy and pride, and I was so lucky to have been a part of it.

Learning about traditional Cambodian shadow puppetry was a chance of a lifetime, and I'm hoping to try making some leather shadow puppets at home. Working at LUC was a great honour, and I loved the chance to pass on the tradition of shadow puppetry to a new generation of young artists.

Thankful

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving, a day in which we take stock of all the things we're thankful for. I'm not too much into traditional holidays, but I can get behind this one. I am so grateful for the abundance of love and laughter that was on display this weekend at our annual Scarecrow Festival.

Families from far and wide came together to make their own scarecrows... and there were some very unique creations!

Proceeds from this year's festival are going to Puppets Without Borders, bringing puppetry and art to kids in Cambodia.

This is our fourth year hosting the Scarecrow Festival, and it is always a ton of fun.

Little-known fact: scarecrows make great travel companions!

We are grateful to our volunteers who helped us out this weekend: Terry Veevers, Debra Tindale, and Brie Kaduc-Stojsic (pictured below, right).

We are deeply thankful for our sponsors, who have supported this festival year after year: Picton Home Hardware, George Emlaw, and City Revival. We couldn't do it without you!

Special thanks to Sandra Sharpe (nee Clarke) who brought her two granddaughters to the festival. Sandra grew up in our house, which was in their family for more than 80 years. Sandra showed the girls around the house, telling them stories from her time here. We are thankful to have this special relationship with the Clarke family.

Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you to everyone who made this weekend such a tremendous success.

Scarecrows in the County

Last weekend we hosted our third annual Scarecrow Festival. We always hold this event on the weekend of Canadian Thanksgiving because it is such a fun activity for people spending time with their families.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous, sunny and warm, with brilliant fall colours all around us.

When people arrive at the farm they are provided with a cross-shaped wooden frame on which to make their scarecrow. We give them a little bit of instruction, and send them to the barn so they can rummage through mountains of clothes to dress their scarecrows.

Then they head back outside to dress and stuff their creations.

Before long, some wonderful characters start to emerge...

... Such as "Eunice", who apparently "works in HR"...

 And this dentally-challenged chap who, er, likes to get high...

Sure, there are your shifty types...

...And your basically beautiful big families...

...And all kids just look insanely cute against a background of straw...

...And then there's some families who just love their kids so much that even their scarecrows have to have babies!

All of the proceeds of this year's festival are going to Puppets Without Borders; a project that will be taking me and Susanne Larner back to Ghana in February 2014, bringing puppetry and art supplies to kids in rural villages.

Me and Brie, rocking the donation box

This Thanksgiving we were super-duper thankful for all of our friends and supporters who helped make this year's Scarecrow Festival such a success: Sandra Henderson, Brie Kaduc-Stojsic, Terry Veevers, Nell Casson, Kelly Roblin, Andy Sheath, Georgia Larner, George Emlaw, Picton Metro, Picton Home Hardware, and City Revival. 

See you next Thanksgiving!

'Tis the Season for Personal Projects!

While Small Pond slows down over the winter months, Milé and I take advantage of the time to work on our  personal projects.

I just returned from Ghana with my project Puppets Without Borders (follow the adventures on  the blog). 

Meanwhile, Milé is in the midst of a painting marathon - painting 100 portraits in 100 hours! Check out his amazing work at Burning the Midnight Oil.

He even painted a portrait of me!

Open House

Krista and Milé would like to invite you to their holiday Open House at Small Pond Arts, Sunday 16 December from 11am to 5pm.

Drop in for a bite, a bevvie, and a chin-wag! View the 100 portraits that Milé painted in 100 hours during Burning the Midnight Oil and warm up by the blazing wood stove and let Krista regale you with tales of her recent trip toGhana. Plus, there will be a massive sale happening in the gallery, with all paintings being between 25-50% off...and a selection of finger puppets that make great stocking stuffers.

All are welcome! Stay for as little or as long as you'd like. Hope to see you then!

The Scarecrows Strike Again

Our annual Scarecrow Festival took place last Saturday and Sunday over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, and once again, it was a great success.

How can the success of such an event be measured? It could be measured in smiles…

Or laughter…

Or by the number of people who showed up…

Or by the number of scarecrows that were made…

Or by the artistic merit of the creations…

Or by the number of kids who dressed themselves up as scarecrows…

Or by the sheer awesomeness of our weekend visitors…

Or by the money that was raised for Puppets Without Borders… which was nothing to sneeze at!

Although the weather was a little on the windy and chilly side, so many enthusiastic folks and families came out, it was pretty hard for us to resist grinning all weekend long.

Thanks to our generous sponsors for making this year's Scarecrow Festival the glorious event that it was: Picton Home Hardware, George Emlaw, Picton Metro, City Revival, Andrew & Emily’s No Frills and all the folks who made goodies for our bake sale.

We’ll be doing it all again for Thanksgiving 2013 – so see you then!

Lighting Fall Fires

This fall Small Pond has been positively abuzz with activity. I've been working like mad on my project Puppets Without Borders… and then there was Stickfest… but oh no, that is not all! A few weeks ago we hosted the Experimental Lantern Laboratory, which was the first creative step in what will become the inaugural Firelight Lantern Festival in the works for April 2013. We brought together artists and community members in a free-form workshop, where they could play around with the materials and make anything they wanted.

Many worked in pairs; everything is more fun with a friend.

In the month prior to the festival, these creative souls will be our workshop leaders, going out into the community, hosting 20 workshops around Prince Edward County. They’ll be working with people of all ages to create lanterns which everyone will bring to the festival and carry in the procession. Other lanterns will be made to hang in shop windows on Main Street Picton.

We call ourselves The Department of Illumination. Our goal is to bring our community together and light up the night with creativity. If this initial workshop is anything to go by, I think that we’re in for an amazingly fun time.

Back row, L to R: Norman Markland, Nella Casson, Krista Dalby, Shelby Larner, Susanne Larner, Liz Zylstra.

Front row, L to R: Mile Murtanovski, Chrissy Poitras, Kyle Topping

This past weekend we hosted a writer’s retreat let by Chris Kay Fraser of Firefly Creative Writing, called “Spark Your Creative Fires for Fall.” With eight participants, including myself, it was a weekend filled with not just words on the page, but also with great kindness – both to each other, and to our creative selves.

Chris led us through a series of writing exercises and prompts designed to get our engines running.

There were two periods of completely silent writing time, where we were encouraged to not even make eye contact with one another, and were free to work on whatever we liked.

I love having a house full of writers. People moving about in silence, respecting the tranquility of others and finding space for their own thoughts. The constant flow of caffeinated beverages, keeping those big, beautiful ideas silently blooming in every corner of the house, the yard, the grounds. What I will remember most was on the second night, when the silence was broken, and people shared the stories and poems they'd written. It was very moving to listen to all of these incredible, vivid, inner worlds bursting out into the world for the first time. We discussed how we could tell when a piece of writing was “good,” and one of the writers said, “I know a piece of writing is good when it makes me want to cry.” I sense that I wasn't the only one who had a lump in their throat that night.

On our last morning together, and as our last act as a group, we each wrote on a rock a few words that were meaningful to us.

We walked out to the woods, relishing these last moments as our time together drew to a close. We placed our rocks in the forest, amongst the other art on the artists’ trail.

Then Chris gave us one last gift, reading us a poem, stoking the fires within us with one last breath of wisdom and beauty.

Chris reads us one last poem

Although autumn is often thought of as a time of endings, this year the fall seems rich with new beginnings; small, precious fires that will keep us warm all winter long.